Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Chrysler Group Reports 4 Percent Increase in January 2006 Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle (CPOV) Sales

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 7 -- Chrysler Group reported that its Five Star dealers sold a new Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle (CPOV) January sales record 8,453 units, up 4 percent from the same month last year. Record sales were boosted by in-demand products available in the CPOV segment including the Chrysler 300, Chrysler ... Continue reading

2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Diesel)

VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI Evolved from a Rabbit? By Steve Purdy TheAutoChannel Detroit Bureau My last (and only) VW diesel was a sky blue Rabbit. I don’t recall what year it was, early-80s I suppose, but I do recall that its idiosyncrasies more than outweighed its economies. It handled great, just what we came to expe ... Continue reading

BMW Group Reports Vehicle Sales Gain in January

FRANKFURT February 7, 2006; Reuters reorted that Germany's BMW, the world's biggest premium carmaker, reported a 14.6 percent increase in January group vehicle sales to 93,811 units on Tuesday, helped by weak 3-Series demand last year ahead of its relaunch. ... Continue reading

Toyota Q3 Profits Jump

TOKYO February 7, 2006; Chang-Ran Kim writing for Reuters reported that Toyota Motor Corp., the world's most profitable car maker, posted a 14 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday as sales in overseas markets raced ahead and a weaker yen boosted the value of earnings from them. Brisk demand for cars such as the ... Continue reading

Liquid Motors and lanelogic Announce Strategic Partnership

DALLAS--Feb. 7, 2006--Liquid Motors Inc., a provider of comprehensive eBay Motors services, and lanelogic, the Nation's First Used-Vehicle Market-Maker, have formed a strategic partnership. lanelogic acts like a wall-street trading floor that electronically facilitates vehicle trading between automotive dealerships nat ... Continue reading

Ener1, Inc. Appoints Marshall S. Cogan to Board of Directors

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 7 -- Ener1, Inc. announced today that financial veteran Marshall S. Cogan has joined the lithium battery and fuel cell company's board of directors. Mr. Cogan was recently named Senior Strategic Advisor of Ener1 majority shareholder, private equity firm Ener1 Group. Throughout his career, he ... Continue reading

Study Estimates More Than 100,000 Positions Available in U.S. Auto Dealerships

Industry and Government Websites Promote High Growth Jobs MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 7 -- At a time when the auto industry is undergoing significant change, a new study shows there are more than 100,000 career jobs currently available at auto dealerships across the country. The study was released today by Automotive Retailing T ... Continue reading

Chicago's in Bloom with Lexus' Launch of the All-New 2007 ES 350

CHICAGO, Feb. 7 -- Spring comes early to Chicago as Lexus plants an eighty-foot-tall blossom on the city's Magnificent Mile. The mechanical flower is part of the public launch of the all-new, fifth- generation Lexus ES 350 luxury sedan, which debuts at this year's Chicago Auto Show on February 8th, will be on display f ... Continue reading

Toyota to Expand Woodstock, Ontario Plant

WOODSTOCK, Ontario, Feb. 7 -- Toyota said today that annual production capacity will increase to 150,000 RAV4 sport utility vehicles at a plant under construction here. Total employment will reach about 2,000 and the total investment will grow to about C$1.1 billion/US$950 million. The facility, managed by Toyota Motor ... Continue reading

Microsoft and Industry Leaders to Host Annual Automotive Summit in Munich

LONDON, February 7 -- - Event Will Explore Ways to Connect the Automotive Value Chain Through Integrated Innovation Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and 14 manufacturing industry leaders today announced the launch of the first annual Automotive Summit, a two-day event aimed at corporate decision makers, ... Continue reading

Report Says General Motors Board Votes to Cut Dividend

FRANKFURT February 7, 2006; Reuters reported that General Motors' board of directors has voted to halve the struggling U.S. automaker's $2 per share annual dividend, industry paper Automotive News reported on Tuesday, citing sources close to the board. A spokesman for General Motors Europe called the report speculative ... Continue reading

Few Know WHY General Motors' Problems Exist: Insider Provides Answer in New Book 'PROJECT 2000'

MIAMI, Feb. 7 -- The well-documented woes of General Motors, which lost nearly $4 billion during the first three quarters of 2005, followed by word that the company would close a dozen plants and eliminate 30,000 jobs, comes as no surprise to Robert Horvath. Horvath, who for 40 years sold GM's once-mighty, but now-defu ... Continue reading

STMicroelectronics and Freescale Launch Broad Technology Agreement for Automotive Applications

Collaboration on PowerPC(R) 32-bit Microcontroller Architecture Drives Automotive Innovation AUSTIN, Texas, and GENEVA, Feb. 7 -- Freescale and STMicroelectronics , the two leading semiconductor suppliers to the automotive industry*, are teaming up to establish a wide-ranging initiative to reinforce their respective st ... Continue reading

Young, Rich, Black... And Driving An African Boom

South Africa's upwardly mobile professionals are flaunting their new wealth. But while they thrive in a resurgent country, impoverished millions are still struggling to survive in the townships TACH Auto Central – February 7, 2006 : Writing for The Observer newspaper, Rory Carroll in Johannesburg, South Africa ha ... Continue reading

Mercedes-Benz S-Class wins EuroCarBodyAWARD 2005

Award presented by the industry group “Automotive Circle International” honors pioneering innovations in car body development and bodyshell design Sindelfingen, Germany - Feb 06, 2006: The new S-Class from Mercedes-Benz has been honored with the EuroCarBodyAWARD 2005 in recognition of its “pioneering ... Continue reading

Federal-Mogul Names Bowers Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Southfeld, Mich - Feb. 6, 2006: Chairman, President and CEO Jose Maria Alapont announces the appointment of William (Steve) Bowers as senior vice president, sales and marketing, member of the Strategy Board and an officer for Federal-Mogul Corporation (OTCBB:FDMLQ). "Steve brings nearly 30 years of international automo ... Continue reading

Nissan drops company health care for US retirees

DETROIT February 6, 2006; Reuters reported that Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is dropping company-sponsored health-care coverage for its retired manufacturing employees in the United States and will instead pay them an annual stipend. Also, people hired at Nissan North America after January 1 will not receive a company pension ... Continue reading

Fuji Heavy Industries to License Lithium Ion Capacity Technology to Nihon Micro Coating

Tokyo, Feb 6, 2006; Aki Tsukioka, JCN Staff Writer reported that Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru vehicles, announced on February 6 that it has signed a five-year agreement to license its lithium ion capacity technology to Nihon Micro Coating. Under the license agreement, Nihon Micro Coating will ... Continue reading

i-Deal Digital Marketing System at NADA 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: Sara Callahan Carter-West Public Relations Phone: (949) 493-0244; Cell: (949) 742-0477; Fax: (949) 248-1764 saracallahan@cox.net Dealer Impact Systems Releases i-Deal Digital Marketing System at NADA 2006; Dealers Enjoy Substantial Internet Sales Increases URBANDALE, ... Continue reading

Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc., Launches New Product to Compete against YellowPages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc., Launches New Product to Compete against YellowPages.com Columbus, Ohio ? February 6, 2006 ? In a bold move to challenge the online directory business, Auto Dealer Traffic has announced its plans to launch AutoServiceandRepair.com to deliver traffic to automotive dealers ... Continue reading

NHRA Warren Johnson Pomona Pre Race: WJ Looks to Celebrate His 50th Pomona Race with A Winternationals Win

Contact: Jon G. Knapp TMG Sports Marketing (704) 662-3121 jgknapp@tmgsports.net Warren Johnson Looks to Celebrate His 50th Pomona Race with A Winternationals Win GM Performance Parts GTO team looks for strong start to 2006 NHRA season Sugar Hill, Ga., February 6, 2006 - In his 32 years in the NHRA's Pro Stock category, ... Continue reading

Lithia Motors and Carfax Announce New Deal

MEDFORD, Ore.--Feb. 6, 2006--Lithia Motors, Inc. today announced the selection of Carfax as their preferred provider of vehicle history reports. Starting today, all vehicles appraised and sold at Lithia Motors stores across the country will have a detailed Carfax Vehicle History Report. "By teaming up with Carfax, we a ... Continue reading

First Chip Foose-Designed Ford Mustang Auctioned

DALLAS--Feb. 6, 2006--Renowned automotive manufacturer Unique Performance has teamed with Tecstar Automotive Group, a subsidiary of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide to form a new joint venture, Unique Performance Concepts, that will manufacture limited edition high performance vehicles. The Chip Foose-design ... Continue reading

Progressive Announces Board of Director Actions and CFO to Retire in 2007

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio--Feb. 6, 2006--The Board of Directors of The Progressive Corporation , on February 4, 2006: -- fixed the close of business on February 22, 2006 as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held o ... Continue reading

President's Budget for Clean Diesel Retrofit Programs Strong First Step

Diesel Industry Joins Broad Coalition Urging Congress to Build on Bush's Proposal WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 -- The Bush administration today released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2007, which begins on October 1, 2006. Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, issued the following statement in ... Continue reading